The paper is concerned with the measurement of emotions and the study of the role of
emotions in consumer choice. Contemporary neurological findings suggest that emotions
may play a role in its own right, quite different from the way in which they have been
considered in traditional consumer choice behaviour theory. A large-scale study including
800 respondents, covering 64 brands, provide findings on emotional response tendencies
for the brands, and relate these to involvement, type of need gratification, purchasing
behaviour, etc.

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In the consumer behaviour literature several perspectives on consumer decision making have
been considered, including the ‘value perspective’, the ‘information processing perspective’,
the ‘emotional perspective’, and ‘cue utilization theory’. In this paper, a framework which
integrates several perspectives on consumer decision making and which hypothesizes possible
links between several basic constructs is developed. The framework is tested by the use of
two experimental designs. The results of this study support the complexity of consumer
decision making: (A) Consumers do not use their cognitive and affective skills independently,
rather they affect each other; (B) the cognitive, evaluative constructs of quality and attitude
had significant direct effects on buying intention in both experiments, whereas the affective
construct of emotion had no significant effects on buying intention in both experiments; (C)
price affected in both experiments perceived quality, which in turn affected attitude, which in
turn affected buying intention. At the same time, price had no direct effect on buying
intention.

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A rather new business trend concerns social responsible or ethical marketing. Instead of just selling products and brands it makes professional sense to “bundle” or associate the purchase of a product with some altruist activity. While the market share of ethical subcategories in most countries is still confined to a few percentages of the total market at best, it appears that the segment will grow during the next decade. The increased interest for sustainability is found within many western societies both within the business community, academic circles, the political system and among plain consumers. Up to now relatively few empirical studies have focused on the topic. The present study is based on a large scale panel study and uses the German coffee market for profiling the consumer of faire trade coffee and analyzes how this consumer differs from the mainstream consumer. Also, we explore why some consumers intend to buy fair trade coffee but do not purchase the product (and vice versa). Several interesting findings are revealed. Implications for promotion of fair trade coffee are discussed and suggestions for further research are addressed.

This paper tests the ability of two consumer theories - the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior - in predicting consumer online grocery buying intention. In addition, a comparison of the two theories is conducted. Data were collected from two web-based surveys of Danish (n=1222) and Swedish (n=1038) consumers using self-administered questionnaires. Lisrel results suggest that the theory of planned behavior (with the inclusion of a path from subjective norm to attitude) provides the best fit to the data and explains the highest proportion of variation in online grocery buying intention. Keywords Online buying intention – groceries - theory of reasoned action – theory of planned behavior – lisrel

In this paper, we suggest that many of the choice situations confronting consumers in the modern marketplace have become supra-complex. Supra-complex decision-making occurs when the perceived difficulty of transforming product information into knowledge exceeds the expected benefits of doing so, even if decision-making heuristics, or other kind of attribute-related decision rules, are applied. Under conditions of supra-complexity, we propose that consumers instead use mental markers in order to justify their decisions. Mental markers are any mental construct the consumer uses for the purpose of gaining mental justification of overall choices. We argue that the usage of mental markers leads to reductions in cognitive dissonance, reduced usage of mental resources and time. Drawing on the principle of mental justification as well as consumers’ propensity to use goals as blueprints for directing their behaviour, we propose a framework for understanding consumer decisions when faced with supra-complexity.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how essential dimensions of customer experience management (CEM) drive business performance in Danish companies.
Methodology/approach – An empirical study is conducted to investigate the relationships between seven CEM dimensions, differentiation, market performance and financial performance. The conceptual model is operationalized by a structural equation model, and the model is estimated and tested by using the partial least squares method. A survey among 484 companies in Denmark forms the empirical basis for the study.
Findings – The findings provide evidence that the seven CEM dimensions influence financial performance. The high performing companies differentiate significantly from the low performing companies with regard to how they master CEM. All seven CEM dimensions are essential in producing differentiation, market performance and financial performance.
Research limitations – This study is limited to the seven identified CEM dimensions in Danish companies.
Practical implications – This study has clear implications in terms of identifying and measuring the importance of essential CEM dimensions which influence business performance. The results can help companies to understand CEM and develop CEM strategies.
Originality/value – The paper provides a deeper insight into CEM and how CEM works.

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The present study is based on a large scale panel survey and uses the German market for profiling
the consumer of ecological margarine. We analyze how this consumer differs from the mainstream
consumer. Consumers of ecological margarine are categorized as light- , medium-, heavy-users and
loyalists. Also, we explore why some consumers - when being asked - intend to buy ecological
margarine but do not purchase the product (and vice versa). A cluster analysis of non-purchasers of
ecological margarine shows at least one sizeable cluster of non-purchasers possess views on ecostatements
that are more eco-prone than loyal purchasers of eco-margarine. Several other interesting
findings are revealed. Implications for promotion of ecological margarine are discussed (not in the
present draft but at the conference).

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The self-generated validity theory (Feldman and Lynch 1988) uses the following arguments: First, re-existing intentions may become more accessible in memory when the researcher asks the question. The measurement process thereby leads survey respondents to form judgments that they otherwise would not access in their memory or that they otherwise would not form. Second, higher relative accessibility of intentions, compared with other inputs for purchase decisions may make subsequent purchase behavior more consistent with prior intentions. A couple of studies provide support of the self-generated validity theory for public opinion (Simmons, Bickart, and Lynch 1993) and marketing research (Fitzsimons and Morwitz 1996; Morwitz and Fitzsimons 2004; Morwitz, Johnson, and Schmittlein 1993). While the self-generated validity theory may apply for high involvement products it does not seem to affect moderate and low involvement product categories.

Integration across departments, functions, and knowledge areas is important for success in the process of product innovation. Research of organizations, whether private or public, demonstrates, however, that cross functional integration is difficult to achieve in praxis. This problem area: Why is cross functional integration – in SMEs – in the process of product innovation so difficult in praxis? – sets up the foundation for this PhD. By focusing on cross functional integration in small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and by utilizing a qualitative research design in studies of the micro politics of cross functional integration, the PhD makes a novel contribution within an area of research largely overlooked by previous literatures....

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The International IPSERA Workshop on Customer Attractiveness, Supplier Satisfaction and Customer Value. 25-26 November 2010

Ellegaard, Chris; Freytag, Per V.(Frederiksberg, 2010)

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Abstract:

Reports on supply chain management (SCM) failure are becoming more frequent in the SCM literature, despite widespread recognition of the business potential associated with such optimizations of operational buyer-supplier interfaces. Some failures can be ascribed to imbalances in the net benefits realized by the buying and supplying company implementing SCM. Failed SCM initiatives hurt the buying company’s customer attractiveness and limit opportunities for long term value creation with suppliers. Hence, an important task for the buying company is the management of SCM initiatives in a way that benefits both parties. However, SCM costs and benefits often materialise as the result of complex interactive processes between buyer and supplier actors, which makes SCM a challenging management task. To increase the understanding of these complex processes, this study identifies the various types of supplier costs and benefits resulting from the failed VMI initiative of a multinational company. While the benefits from this case turn out to be few, the costs appear in large variety and scale. More importantly, we uncover the underlying mechanisms generating these costs, thereby enabling managers to identify and avoid the costs. Based on the findings, we propose pre-project classification of supplier VMI readiness to allow more beneficial implementation as a key managerial implication.